Hardik Pandya, India's skipper for the T20I series against West Indies, received a lot of flak on social media for 'denying' young gun Tilak Varma a shot at scoring half-century in the third T20I against West Indies. With Varma batting on 49*, Pandya, who was at the strike, hit a six to finish the match and take India home in the must-win game. Though India romped home comfortably, Pandya was called selfish for the act.
India again face West Indies in the fourth T20I on Saturday. While analysing India's chances, former opener Aakash Chopra touched upon the 'Tilak Varma topic' and also brought in MS Dhoni's reference.
"It's an interesting one. Hardik Pandya has been trolled a lot and has been criticised. But there's another school of thought that says, why are you talking about milestones in T20 cricket? So, that was quite in the middle of conversation," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
"I remember once MS Dhoni played a forward defensive shot because there was Virat Kohli at the other end. He wanted him to finish it off, he didn't want to take the limelight. But Hardik doesn't have to be a Dhoni, even if he considers him an idol."
After the third T20I, social media users posted examples of when former skipper Dhoni acted selflessly for the players.
One example which was given very often was the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final between India and South Africa where Dhoni and Virat Kohli was in the middle. Dhoni was facing a delivery when India only needed one run off seven balls to win the match. He defended the ball and bring Kohli on the strike. Kohli was batting on 67 off 42 balls at that point in time. Dhoni even gestured to Kohli, "You finish it", winning over fans and cementing his spot in their hearts.
"Tilak Varma, outstanding. First Indian to get 30+ scores in his first three international innings. He scored a fifty in his previous games and was close to another this time too, in fact, it should've been a fifty. His temperament is good, his range is good, he was aggressive at first and then was happy to play second-fiddle to Suryakumar," Chopra had earlier said in a video on his YouTube channel.